Photo: VANCOUVER – September 8, 2017: A high angle view of many commercial city buses parked in the terminal station in south Vancouver, Canada on September 8, 2017 / Shutterstock
TransLink has stated that it will continue to update riders about service cancellations, but that it won't be able to say which bus routes will be affected as a result of strike action.
The transit authority informed riders in the morning on Nov. 8 that it would have reduced frequency on 25 specific bus routes in the region. However, some bus lines saw reduced service in the morning on the previous day, but TransLink did not make that information public until later in the day, when Gavin McGarrigle, Western Regional Director of Unifor – the union representing SeaBus and bus operators and maintenance workers – spoke to media and the public about route segment cancellations.
Now, TransLink says that it likely won't be able to say which routes are affected by job action. Instead, the transit authority advises riders to use its Advisory Alerts to keep up to date with cancellations.
With this in mind, TransLink shared an infographic on its Twitter earlier today that shows disruptions on the SeaBus, but with a check mark next to everything else. However, it confirmed that a number of buses were cancelled today as a result of job action.
Good morning, everyone! SeaBus will have 6 sailing cancellations this morning and afternoon. Please sign-up for Transit Alerts at https://t.co/8mM2JFOsQC or follow@TransLink
on Twitter.^kv
✔ SkyTrain (incl. Canada Line)
✔ bus
⚠ SeaBus
✔ West Coast Express
✔ HandyDART
— TransLink BC (@TransLink) November 12, 2019
In contrast, when it confirmed bus cancellations on Friday, it showed interruptions next to the bus as well as the SeaBus.
Due to job action, SeaBus will have 12 sailing cancellations this afternoon and evening. Passengers may also experience frequency reduction on some bus routes.
⚠ Bus
⚠ SeaBus
✔ SkyTrain
✔ West Coast Express
✔ HandyDART
Stay up-to-date: https://t.co/8mM2JG63Ia
^jd
— TransLink BC (@TransLink) November 8, 2019
Jill Drews, Senior Issues Management Advisor, TransLink, told Vancouver Is Awesome in an email that the transit authority had "minimal issues this morning."
Drews notes that TransLink believes the following routes had some service cancelled due to job action:
10, 100, 106, 123, 401, 410, 601, 183, 701, 151, 160
Drews adds that the #183, #701, #151, and #160 routes have had some service cancelled due to a lack of buses; the rest of the routes have had cancellations because there are a lack of operators to drive them.
"I’m going to be very transparent with you," said Drews.
"As this job action ramps up, it’s going to be very difficult to impossible to be able to tell you what service is cancelled due to job action."
The transit authority will not comment on any further cancellations due to job action, but the Advisory Alerts page shows a number of cancellations in the afternoon and evening. While a number of them give a reason for the cancellation, such as traffic congestion, others say a "mechanical issue." As such, it is unclear which routes have been impacted by the lack of overtime work.
Due to union job action TransLink is expecting the cancellation of the 10 SeaBus sailings tomorrow:
- The 4:10pm, 5:00pm, 6:00pm, 7:32pm, and 8:47pm sailings from Lonsdale Quay will be cancelled
- The 4:25pm, 5:15pm, 6:15pm, 7:46pm, and 9:01pm sailings from Waterfront will be cancelled.
Unifor, the union representing bus operators and transit maintenance workers, has announced that inaction from the employer will cause further transit disruptions by the end of the week.
